John Hollinger:

That’s the summary, but let’s zoom out to the big picture. I’m not sure anybody has put together all the dots on this, but consider the following:

• Josh Smith is from Atlanta.

• Dwight Howard is from Atlanta.

• Dwight Howard and Josh Smith played together in high school and remain friends; in fact, Howard was the best man in Smith’s wedding.

• Chris Paul is not from Atlanta but is from North Carolina and wanted to play in Atlanta coming out of college.

• Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and Josh Smith all will be free agents next summer.

You can see where this is going. I think it’s a crazy theory, but I have always thought people overlooked the fact that both Paul and Howard would be free agents at the end of the next season. I still think Howard gets traded so that Orlando doesn’t get nothing in the deal, but if not this could be a big move and could make the Heat’s life tough the next few years.